Rep. Grace Napolitano thought congressional interest in mental health – an issue she cares deeply about – would grow after Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head and six others were killed by a gunman in Arizona.

The suspect in those shootings, Jared Loughner, showed multiple signs of mental instability before the violent rampage, and some believe he suffers from a mental illness.

But exactly zero members have approached Napolitano, a Democrat who represents Pomona and co-chairs the Congressional Mental Health Caucus, to talk mental health or discuss her legislation to increase federal funding for mental health programs in school.

“You would think it would be an ideal time for everyone to jump on board. … Since it involved a member of Congress, now it’s personal,” Napolitano said.

Instead, in the weeks following the shooting, members of Congress – along with political pundits and President Barack Obama – focused on the contentious rancor that has defined federal politics in recent years as a potential explanation for Loughner’s rampage.

But according to a Quinnipiac University poll taken immediately after the shooting, more Americans blame the mental health system for the shootings than political rhetoric or gun laws.

The poll found 40 percent of voters believe the shooting could not have been prevented, while 23 percent blamed the mental health system, 15 percent pointed to heated political rhetoric and 9 percent attributed the tragedy to lax gun control.

Mental health just isn’t an easy thing for people, including members of Congress, to talk about, according to experts.

“Mental illness is still a big issue for a lot of people. The stigma is there. The shame is there,” said psychologist Luis Garcia, vice president of Pacific Clinics, which provides mental health services.

“People don’t want to talk about it. They don’t want to hear about it. And until it comes to them personally, they don’t want to fund it,” Napolitano added.

Still, since the shooting, a dialogue over mental health laws has emerged in Arizona. Gov. Jan Brewer knows the issue well – her son suffers from schizophrenia. And in Arizona, the debate over state funding for programs to treat the mentally ill has escalated.

Napolitano says the same should be happening in Washington.

She has sponsored legislation that would provide $200 million in federal funding for public schools nationally to develop on-site mental health services for students, in partnership with local mental health professionals.

A way to bring mental health services to students is being developed through a partnership between Tri-City Mental Health System and Pomona, Claremont and Bonita unified school districts.

That kind of early intervention was missing in the case of Loughner, Garcia and Napolitano said, though they both say it would not necessarily have prevented his shooting rampage.

“Who knows? We never know. The only thing I know is that if all the schools, if we all have resources, I think we can be more effective in treating the illness, and avoid tragedies like this one,” Garcia said.

“He was not stable. He needed some assistance,” Garcia added. “It’s amazing to me that all these people knew this person was unstable, and then you see the tragedy.”

Teachers and classmates at Pima Community College, where Loughner studied, became alarmed by Loughner’s behavior, but no one requested a psychological evaluation. He was ultimately asked to leave the school.

“He was never diagnosed by a professional. He had all these people who were worried, but he himself was never diagnosed by a clinician. They didn’t know what to do with him, where to turn,” Napolitano said.

Six people died and 12 were injured Jan. 8 when Loughner opened fire outside of a Tucson grocery store during a public event with Giffords, a Scripps College graduate.

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